Sunday, January 31, 2016

Interesting for all Malaysians to reflect on this news report...

Personally, I believe government should still practice positive discrimination in favour of the poor - not on based on any particular ethnic, religious or cultural basis.

We need to seriously evaluate who the 'special status' policy really benefited over the years? The rich few, or the poor - given the fact that many Malay households remain poor till today.

Shameful for Malays to still depend on crutches, says Rafidah

BY JENNIFER GOMEZ

Published: 30 January 2016 2:32 PM

Tan
Sri Rafidah Aziz (right) with author and social critic Dr M. Bakri Musa
at the launch of his book in Shah Alam, today. Rafidah says it is time
Malays stop thinking they are 'special' and must continue getting help
from government policies. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin,
January 30, 2016.

Malays are still imprisoned by the
thinking that they are "special" and deserving of certain privileges,
says former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.Speaking at the launch of a book titled "Liberating The Malay Mind"
by author Dr M. Bakri Musa, the former Wanita Umno chief said it was
shameful that after all these years, the community still wanted to
depend on their "special status".She added that such dependency detracted from the spirit of the New
Economic Policy, which was a social engineering of society to help those
who had fallen behind in terms of economy and education.
"That was why the government undertook the restructuring, because
the Malays were very underprivileged, not because you deserved it
because you are Malay.
"You deserved it at that time because you were so far behind, you
needed the scholarships, you needed the MRSM (Mara Junior Science
College), and so on."But today, we still want tongkat (crutches) when our legs are okay,
and want to depend on the special status as Malays, so shameful," she
said.Rafidah said she was concerned that Malays were not ready for the
future, and stressed the need to nurture the young with good universal
values such as integrity, trustworthiness, responsibility,
accountability and respect for others."We have to nurture these values among Malays, otherwise, we will be stuck in a time warp and will not move."We have to liberate young minds from all that is negative," she added.Rafidah also spoke of the need to nurture leadership values and qualities in the younger generation."They must have global minds and earn respect not because they are
Malays, but because they are Malaysians and the country can be proud of
them," she added. – January 30, 2016.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

The Attorney General of Malaysia (who is also the Public Prosecutor), just like judges, should be independent, and perceived to be independent.

As such, they should definitely not be holding any other positions, including Directorships in a company.

The Attorney General (Public Prosecutor), more that judges, is only one. He/she makes the ultimate decision on whether to prosecute a particular person, or some legal entity for breaches of Malaysian laws. This naturally also includes the decision whether to prosecute the Prime Minister, Ministers, Menteri Besar, Chief Minister, and even political parties. Malaysians need an Independent Public Prosecutor, who acts to uphold the cause of justice without fear or favour.

Further, most Company Directors do get paid Director's allowances, and/or other payments.

Then, there were also questions raised in the media whether the immediate past Attorney General, who was suddenly replaced by this new AG in the midst of the investigation on the alleged corruption of Najib Tun Razak, and matters concerning 1MDB and its related companies, was also a Director.

In any even in a recent media report, immediate past AG Ghani Patail allegedly said that his appointment was long before the start of the 1MDB investigations.

But the fact remains, that he was the Chairman of the Board of Directors or a Director of a company (allegedly Sarawak Hidro) long before. The fact that he was appointed allegedly in October 2014 still does not make it right.

The timing of the appointment,
according to some was material - but for me, the timing is
irrelevant.It was wrong that he was a Director when he was the Public
Prosecutor.If it happened when he/she was Public Prosecutor, it may very well be corruption - for corruption is not just about cash money...

When a report is filed about the wrongdoing of the Company, its Directors or even its shareholders, certainly the fact that the Public Prosecutor is a Director of the said company, may result in a different treatment, or may even affect the decision to 'close investigation', to prosecute or not to prosecute.

At the same time, opponents to the business, may also be treated differently.

If the said company, is one where the government has influence, or owns, it is even worse. Was that the reason why maybe no Prime Minister or others were prosecuted? Did it also influence the treatment of the relevant political party and prominent party members and/or their cronies?

In my opinion, the Attorney General (who is also the Public Prosecutor) should hold no other offices, positions or interests in other companies/GLCs, etc. In fact, he should have NO other source of income other than his salary and allowances as AG.

I would go further to say that when he becomes AG, it would be good if he also dispossess off all shares/stocks and other investment. Alternatively, there should be no dealings in them for as long as he is AG - freeze of assets. There must also be a FULL DISCLOSURE of all his, his families and close relatives interest, and this disclosure is not a 'secret disclosure' just to the Prime Minister - but rather a public disclosure, that should appear in the Attorney General's website.

Apandi Ali, our new Attorney General (also Public Prosecutor) must now make FULL DISCLOSURE of his assets and interests.

AG Mohamed Apandi Ali must immediately resign from all Directorship, and other positions. He should also declare openly, the amount of monies received to date.

In fact, Malaysia must have a law, that clearly states that the Attorney General(also Public Prosecutor) cannot receive any other monies/remuneration/allowance from any other sources. Of course, he should not be a Director, Board Member, etc...

In fact, the law should also state the same for the Prime Minister, Ministers and those holding public office - their income for so long as they hold office must only come from their salary and allowance of the office they hold. If they are Member of Parliament, they are entitled to receive also their MP pay and allowance.

In Thailand, a Prime Minister was removed because he received some payment for taking part in a TV cooking show. Such clear provisions in law is good for Malaysia - so no more can RM2.6 billion end up in their accounts?

Remember also that Malaysia's Federal Constitution guarantees equality - "All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.".Now, was Najib Tun Razak treated in the same was as any other suspect?

One member of the Cabinet suggested that workers get more than 1 job to get more income. But, this should not apply to the Attorney General/Public Prosecutor, Judges, Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, Menteri Besars, Cabinet Members, State Exco, Heads of government departments, and public servants generally. The perception of independence is very important...

Ex-AG Gani quashes speculation on GLC appointment

1

Published 29 Jan 2016, 8:31 pm
Updated Today 9:47 am

Former
attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail has refuted speculation about his
appointment to the board of wholly-owned Minister of Finance
Incorporated subsidiary Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd.

In a text message to Malaysiakini, Gani said he was appointed “long before the investigation into 1MDB”.

A check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) also confirmed that he was appointed in October 2014.

This
information made the rounds on social media with some posts querying if
this is the reason behind his silence since being replaced as
attorney-general last July.

Gani, who was then heading a joint task force investigating 1MDB, was replaced on grounds of poor health.

The move came in the wake of the Wall Street Journal and whistleblower website Sarawak Report
exposing the RM2.6 billion and SRC International’s RM24 million which
were transferred into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s private bank
accounts.

The reports were based on documents leaked by Malaysian investigators.

This ignited speculation that Gani was removed in order to impede investigations, which the government denied.

On Tuesday, Gani’s successor Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared the prime minister of any wrongdoing based on the investigation papers submitted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Najib
has repeatedly denied abusing public funds for personal gain and blamed
the allegations of corruption against him on those plotting to topple
him from power.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Najib Tun Razak and the BN government is now proposing that the workers contribution to the Employees Provident Fund(EPF) will be reduced by 3%.

Sounds great - but wait a minute. This would mean that the amount of monthly monies paid into the Worker's EPF Account would reduce...and this is not right as the EPF is the 'Simpanan Hari Tua' (Savings for old age) - this money is to sustain the livelihood of the worker and his family/dependents in their old age when the worker is no longer able to work and earn....until the day he/she dies.

Public servants generally will get pensions right up to the day they die, and thereafter pension will still be paid out to their spouses, and children who have yet to reach the age of majority. These workers, under the EPF scheme, do not have this guaranteed pension payments. It will be the money that they have in their EPF accounts that is expected to support them in the old age.

As it is, it has already been acknowledged, that for most workers in Malaysia, the amount of money that will be in their accounts will now be insufficient to be able to provide for the livelihood of the worker in his old age, In fact, I believe the government is trying to deal with this very real problem with some form of a 'pension scheme' - but it is all work in progress.

So, this BN government is asking poor workers to reduce the save for their old age - and spend that money now. This is so irresponsible.

If Najib is saying that the workers mandatory contribution is reduced by 3%, whilst the employer's contribution is increased - which results in the same amount of monthly contribution to the EPF accounts, then it is OK.

If Najib is saying that the worker's mandatory contribution is reduced by 3%, and the government will bank in the said 3%- which results in the same amount of monthly contribution to the EPF accounts, then it is OK.

But certainly not, this 'save less for your old age' proposal is absurd, and at the end of the day, it is workers under the EPF/KWSP scheme that loses out in the long run.

WHY? So workers will have more money to spend to help the Malaysian economy. This logic was also used in the past by the BN government in the past - when they started allowing workers to take out money from the 'old age savings account'(EPF Account) to spend now for houses, etc...Then also, the rationale, I believe, was to ensure that more money will be spend now by these workers for the sake of the Malaysian economy...

How much really should a worker be having in his/her EPF account when he/she reaches 55/60/65 to allow him to be able to survive and sustain his/her and dependents livelihood until he/she dies? RM250,000 - RM300,000? Well, we know that for most workers, they will not have even that amount. Factor in the ever increasing cost of living, and also the other monthly loan-repayment obligations. Some workers who purchased homes, will still be repaying loans even after they reach the age they can withdraw from the EPF (old age savings account).

A perusal of the workers, who have already withdrawn from the EPF account, will also show that many of them now do not enough money to sustain their lives until they die.

Hence, Najib's proposal is short-sighted and do not take into account the future lives of workers and their families.

Remember, the EPF scheme affects all private sector workers - and, this BN government, has been shown to be not bothered. While, government employees minimum wages are raised now to RM1,200, the private sector minimum wage will be raised maybe in the middle of the year to just RM1,000. Government employees have COLA[Cost of Living Allowances], private sector workers do not have this. Government employess enjoy access to very low interest loans, but private sector workers do not.

Government employees generally enjoy regular employment until retirement - but in the private sector the government is allowing the unfettered rice of precarious employment practices - short fixed term employment contracts, the unjust contractor for labour systems,...

Now, Saudi Arabia allegedly gave Najib a RM2 billion 'donation' - but he allegedly returned a large amount of it to the donor - that could have been donated by Najib Tun Razak to the government...?

Our target must be that the workers earn MORE and that is sufficient for the livelihood, and for their spending now. They should not be forced, to reduce the contribution to their 'savings for their old age'.

It is the government itself that is to be blamed for the increase of cost of living - so, what needs to be done is to reduce that, so the monies earned by workers now is sufficient...

When a worker takes a loan, he pays high interest to the bank - but if he saves his money in the bank, he receives such low interest. Then, the government allowed banks to impose other charges for withdrawals, for bank statements, etc .. In short, it looks like the Malaysian BN government discourages savings and encourages spending...and for the future of the worker and their family, this smells trouble...

So, Malaysia must increase subsidies for the basic minimal items required by the worker and family for survival.

Maybe, the government should abolish road tols... reduce water and electricity rate...

Maybe, the recent increase in MP, Senators and ADUNs allowances should be reduced... PM and Ministers pays should be cut. GLC CEOs, Directors and

Sadly, the rich feels it not - but please do consider the majority who are poor...

Worker earning RM1,000 - with reduction of EPF contribution by 3%, he will take home an extra RM30 a month, RM360 a year.

RM360 a year - with, say an EPF interest of 6%, he gets RM21 in interest per year.

So, happily the government said that all this will be spent - RM8billion. Hello, that is the workers' money not being saved but spent...

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, is the Public Prosecutor of Malaysia. As such, his duty is to prosecute persons who allegedly commit offences in Malaysia. His is not to judge the guilt or innocence - that it the role of the Courts and judges.

A public prosecutor is not a Judge - but somehow, this former Judge, seems to be uncertain about his role.

As Public Prosecutor, he does not have the right to pass judgment on the guilt or innocence of Najib Tun Razak, for that is the duty of the Courts. He should confine himself to just saying that there was no evidence, or 'insufficient evidence' for the prosecution to charge Najib Tun Razak in court for corruption. The case remains 'open' - for maybe in the future sufficient evidence may be found.

In fact, it was reported that he did say that.. there was insufficient evidence to implicate the Prime Minister. For me, that would mean that there was some evidence and not enough... and, as such the case is still open. Maybe, in the future, when there is 'sufficient evidence', the Public Prosecutor can still proceed and charge Najib Tun Razak for corruption..

Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, who is also public prosecutor, today told
a packed press conference at his office in Putrajaya there was
“insufficient evidence” to implicate the prime minister.

It would be good for Malaysians to have access to the full statement of the Public Prosecutor. Reliance only on news reports may not give the full picture.

I hope to discuss further on this matter about the law and other related matters in a later post.

For, now I would like to say that I am most disturbed with another media report saying that Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali has been made a Director in Lembaga Urusan Tabung Haji(LUTH).

This is scandalous because, amongst others, this may generate a negative public perception:-

a) That the appointment of the AG as Director of LUTH (most so if he is also paid Director's allowances, etc) can be perceived as a form of 'gratification' for the way he handled(or was handling) the investigation on the possible corruption of Najib Tun Razak, and the 1MDB related matters. If so, the AG Apandi Ali himself may have himself committed an offence of corruption - and, who will be investigating and deciding whether to prosecute or not the Public Prosecutor Apandi Ali?

b) Now some people in LUTH are been alleged to be linked to 1MDB (based on an earlier report by Malaysiakini), and that the LUTH itself may be involved in the 1MDB (or transactions of 1MDB and/or its subsidiaries).

c) As the Attorney General of Malaysia, also the Public Prosecutor, it is so wrong for him to be holding any position in any other companies, statutory bodies, etc... - It surely may affect his independence in his work as Public Prosecutor. Being a Director of LUTH, how will be deal with allegations against LUTH, or any of its Directors/officers/etc?

* Well, it may be shown later, that this appointment happened long ago before he even became the AG of Malaysia, but then he was a Judge. It does not matter, in my opinion, for no Judge also should be sitting as a Director of any company or statutory body. When appointed Judge or AG, he should have immediately resigned his Directorship? He should just have one job - and one source of income only - that is, being AG or judge.

I believe, when someone becomes a Judge or the Attorney General, there must be full disclosure of his/her and immediate families interest, and this information should be made available online on the relevant website.

In fact for an AG(Public Prosecutor), Judges and senior public officials, I believe, there must be a 'cooling off' period of at least 3 years even after their retirement before they accept such positions in companies, statutory bodies or government.

Perception of independence is most important in the administration of justice, and government administration.

I recently heard that our former AG is currently doing his pupilage in a law firm, as a step to be admitted to the Bar. He can maybe be admitted to the Bar, but I do not think it is right for him to commence practice thereafter, at least not until the "cooling off" period has lapsed.

So, I call upon AG Apandi Ali to provide an explanation. He must also immediately RESIGN as the Director of LUTH. I also want him to tell us whether he received any monetary or benefit being a Director of LUTH. I would suggest that he immediately returns the said monies - or better still, pass it on to our financially struggling government.

Datuk Seri
Najib Razak has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, the
attorney-general said today, after close to six months of investigations
into the RM2.6 billion channelled into the prime minister’s bank
accounts and into Finance Ministry-owned firm, SRC International Sdn
Bhd.
Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, who is also public prosecutor, today told
a packed press conference at his office in Putrajaya there was
“insufficient evidence” to implicate the prime minister.
“Based on facts and evidence, no criminal offences have been committed by the PM in relation to three investigation papers.
“I hereby order the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) to close the investigation papers,” Apandi said. The three papers are one on the RM2.6 billion donation and two on SRC
International which had taken a RM4 billion loan from the Retirement
Fund Inc or KWAP. Apandi today also cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in relation to SRC International.
Apandi said that based on evidence from witnesses and supporting
documents submitted by the MACC, the sum of US681 million (RM2.08
billion) deposited into the personal accounts of the prime minister
between March 22, 2013 and April 10, 2013 was a personal donation to
Najib from the Saudi royal family which "was given to him without any
consideration".
"MACC in their investigation personally met and recorded statements
from witnesses, including the donor, which confirmed that the donation
was given to the PM personally," he said.
Apandi said he was satisfied that there was no evidence to show that the donation was a form of gratification given corruptly.
"Evidence obtained from the investigation does not show that the
donation was given as an inducement or reward for doing of forbearing to
do anything in relation to his capacity as a prime minister," said
Apandi who read a statement from a prepared text.
Furthermore, the A-G said the prime minister returned US$620 million
(RM2.03 billion) to the Saudi royal family in August 2013 because the
money was not utilised.
“There (is) no evidence to show that Yang Amat Berhormat PM had any
knowledge and, or was informed that the monies had been transferred into
his personal accounts from the accounts of SRC International.
“There (is) no evidence that YAB PM had given any approval for the
transfer of monies from the account of SRC International into his
personal accounts,” Apandi said.
Based on the evidence, the A-G said he was satisfied that no criminal
offence had been committed in relation to the said RM2.08 billion.
MACC last year opened investigations following reports in The Wall
Street Journal and Sarawak Report in July last year alleging that of the
RM2.6 billion donation, RM42 million had originated from SRC
International, a subsidiary of Najib’s brainchild, 1Malaysia Development
Bhd (1MDB).
This was according to documents on the money trail provided by Malaysian investigators, WSJ and Sarawak Report said.
A larger tranche of US$681 million was also transferred ino Najib’s
accounts, originating from a British Virgin Islands company and going
through Falcon Private Bank in Singapore, they reported.MACC had recorded statements from more than 100 witnesses, including Najib and the individual who allegedly gave RM2.6 billion.The agency first submitted investigation papers to the A-G on
December 31, and had the papers returned with requests for more
explanations on January 18. It resubmitted the papers last week.MACC’s deputy director of operations Datuk Sri Mohd Shukri Abdull
earlier said the RM2.6 billion probe was still incomplete as
investigators needed to collect documents and statements from
individuals from several overseas financial institutions.Shukri said the commission filed a request with the A-G to obtain mutual legal assistance (MLA).Apandi said today since no criminal offence had been committed, there
was “no necessity” for Malaysia to make a request for an MLA to any
foreign states to complete the investigation by the MACC in relation to
the donation. – January 26, 201, Malaysian Insider..

PUTRAJAYA:
The Attorney-General’s Chambers has found that no criminal offence was
committed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in relation to
SRC International and the alleged RM2.6bil donation.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali said at a press
conference Tuesday that he found no evidence to show that the donation
was "an inducement or reward for doing or forbearing to do anything in
relation to his capacity as Prime Minister".

"Based on the evidence from witnesses and supporting documents
submitted, I am satisfied that no criminal offence has been committed in
the relation to the said donation," said Apandi.

He said the donation, which was actually RM2.08bil, was a personal
donation from the Saudi royal family and given without any
consideration.

On the two investigation papers on SRC International, Apandi said
there were no evidences to prove that Najib had any knowledge nor had he
given any approval for the transfer of the monies from the account of
SRC International into his personal accounts.

"Based on the facts and evidences as a whole, I as the Public
Prosecutor am satisfied that no criminal offence has been committed by
the Prime Minister in relation to the three investigation papers.

"I will return the relevant investigation papers to MACC today at noon with instructions to close the three papers," he said. - Star, 26/1/2016

The Tabung Haji trio with 1MDB links

Three top officials in Tabung Haji are directly involved with
debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which raises the question
of conflict of interest in a recent deal involving the two entities.

Yesterday, Tabung Haji admitted that it is acquiring a plot of land in the Tun Razak Exchange site from 1MDB for a sum of RM188 million.

This
sparked controversy because it is widely known that 1MDB bought the
land for the Tun Razak Exchange project from the federal government at a
price that was far below market value.

Following this, Umno Youth
and Umno supreme council member Saifuddin Abdullah zeroed in on the
fact that this deal could be tainted by conflict of interest.

The three figures are:

Ismee Ismail

Ismee is the Tabung Haji group managing director and CEO. He also sits on the 1MDB board.

Johan Abdullah

Johan is the Tabung Haji deputy group managing director and deputy CEO.

He is also the chairperson of 1MDB subsidiary Edra Global Energy Sdn Bhd.

Edra acquired power assets from Powertek (formerly known as Tanjong Energy), Genting Sanyen and Jimah.

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